Ok, I haven't been writing as much lately as I'd like to. Work has been very very VERY EXTREMELY crazy lately. Its times like this, over the last couple of weeks, when I have a really hard time balancing work with family. And the problem gets worse when you factor in that David and I work at the same office. And the amount of time I DON'T spend at work directly affects the amount of time that David DOES spend at work. So do I want to stay at work an hour or two longer, and miss my kids, but help David get his stuff done so he can come home earlier? Too tough to call on some days.
But every single decision David and I make right now is building the pattern and the foundation for our family environment. And of course not just work decisions, but everything. I try really hard to keep that in mind when I'm making even little decisions - what I'm deciding right now is setting the pattern and expectation for future situations. Parenting is such a relentless job, no breaks. Trying to make the right choices EVERY TIME because there are no exceptions, no "just this one time" situations. At the same time, there are ALWAYS exceptions, reasons why I'll stay late today but not tomorrow, or why we'll eat McDonald's today even though is bad for our health, or why we'll stay up late tonight and not last night or tomorrow night.
Add to this that David and I just aren't naturally structured. We try to keep our house organized, but when it comes to schedules we've never been too worried about sticking to certain time frames. That worked just fine for us before the kids came along. And now, if we let them stay up late, it screws everything up for the next several days. (Those of you reading this who have kids understand its not a one-night exception, it really DOES throw you off for DAYS.)
Holidays are the worst of all when it comes to throwing all the rules out the window. Just when you want your kids to look and behave their best, they get high on sugar and lack of sleep and all the manners are completely gone. In walks the toddler who forgot the words "please" and "thank you," who doesn't know how to share, who screams everything instead of talking...
Anyway, sorry for the long tangent. I'm writing this at 11:30 at night when I should have been in bed two and a half hours ago... see how easily I get off the schedule? I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend of writing lots of stuff about the kids. And now, time for bed.
2 comments:
What bad habit do you have that you don't want your kids to have and how long can you keep it a secret from them? Can you actually use that as a reason to eliminate one of your bad habits? Or are we doomed by hereditary wiring to pass everything down through the generations, the good with the bad? Fortunately, for me I had a spouse who could cover for me in those (few) areas where I might have had a (small) deficiency. And thus, our children are perfect!!
Biting my nails - there's one I've had my whole life and mostly quit now, but still sometimes go back to it when I'm anxious. Mom and Dad worked through my whole childhood to get me to quit. I hope my kids don't.
Personality habits, like a short temper or whatever, I think that's part hereditary and part learned. But no matter how we pick up the bad habit, we spend our whole lives trying to overcome the bad habits.
And yes, Dad, your kids turned out perfect and now I'm counting on you to make sure your grandchildren turn our perfect as well!
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